October 2023

👋 Hey there!

Updated: October 1, 2023

It’s been a while.  If you’re new here, hello!

I had gotten very busy with work and life, in general and it seemed like something had to give.  For me, I love the internet, but I also try to prioritize it last when compared to anything in my real life.  So writing and sending out this newsletter was something that didn’t happen for the last several months.

But now that things have cooled out again… picking back up where we left off.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

  • I’ll be honest, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately.  I’ve been reading, but I’ve also been struggling to get through books at my usual pace.  I didn’t finish reading any books last month.

📗 Books I’m currently reading

  • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
    • Because when you’re struggling, why not try to read a 1200+ page French novel?  Actually, I thought it might help for a couple of reasons – 1) I loved Les Miserables and this seems to be the same genre and 2) my wife is listening to the audiobook at the same time – so we’re discussing it a bit.
  • The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris
    • This has been a somewhat interesting read.  The subtitle is “a zoologist’s study of the human animal” and goes into some of our biological and evolutionary behaviors that make us the animal we are today.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

  • Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound, Arlo McKinley
    • I’m not sure how I cam across this Arlo McKinley album… I’ve never heard of Arlo McKinley before.  I’ve played this album probably 20-30 times start to finish.  It’s great. And Lonesome.
  • These Days, Bon Jovi
    • At one point in my childhood I liked Bon Jovi.  This album was new and I bought it on cassette.  It was good then and it’s good now.  Probably the most underrated Bon Jovi album.

🎧 Podcast episode I thought was interesting

  • Blueprint for Armageddon, Hardcore History
    • I’ve listened to the first episode of this series 3 times over the last several years.  I thought it broke down how WW1 started in such a vivid way – I had never heard history talked about like that.  I finally decided it’s time to break down and buy the rest of the series and give it a listen.
  • #692: Arthur C. Brooks – How to Be Happy…, The Time Ferris Show
    • A pretty great conversation that I listened to more than once.  I learned a lot… one thing was the difference between the complex and complicated.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

Quote I’ve been thinking about



“You can increase your satisfaction temporarily and inefficiently by having more, or permanently and securely by wanting less.”

– Arthur C. Brooks